A love that could be
by penderella
Summary: A Gwerlin fanfic. Remember in series one, when it seemed like Gwen and Merlin were going to get together, well that's what this is based on. Trying to remain canon so scenes without Gwen/Merlin won't be changed too much, unless Gwen/Merlin influenced them blah blah blah you get the idea. I don't own these characters, BBC does, I'm just playing with them.
1. Dragon's Call -1

_**I know this is supposed to be a Gwen/Merlin fic but I want it to be completely canon, which is why it probably seems like I just copy and pasted the script. Don't worry, Gwen scenes are coming soon. Also, although I want it to be canon I'm not going to include many scenes that either Merlin or Gwen are not present in, unless they are important to the story line. Enjoy.**_

* * *

I approached Camelot through the woods, following the track that had been beaten down by travellers and horsemen before me. I was heading towards not just a new place, but a new life as an assistant to the court physician Gaius. As the forest ended and the town began I was taken aback by the bustling, busy nature of the market, it was so different to my small country village. I reached the end of the town and found a bridge, leading into the courtyard of the castle. The castle itself was amazing, unlike anything I'd ever seen or imagined before. It was huge, with beautiful stained glass window breaking the high grey walls. I noticed a crowd gathering around a small wooden stage, under a balcony jutting out of the castle. A man dressed in armour, a cloak and a crown, who must have been the king was standing on the balcony.

"Ladies and gentlemen", he said without shouting, he had the kind of voice that didn't need to shout to be heard. "I Uther Pendragon, King of Camelot hereby find this man guilty of using enchantments and magic. A crime which is not tolerated in our kingdom", he signalled to two soldiers who half-dragged the man onto the wooden stage. Uther nodded towards another man who was holding an axe. The crowd gasped as the axe hit the mans neck and his head fell to the ground with a gentle thump.

"So this is what will happen if they find out about me", I thought, "Why did mother think it would be better for me here".

My thoughts were interrupted by Uther's voice, he was making a speech about how he had driven magic out of Camelot. About how he had captured and imprisoned the last great dragon twenty years ago. He declared a festival to mark the event. A festival to celebrate the suppression of magic folk didn't really make sense to me, surely not all people who had magic were bad people?

I didn't have long to ponder on it. As the crowd dispersed a woman began to scream.

"There is only one evil in this kingdom and it is not magic, it is you!", she cried, her voice was filled with pain. "My son was innocent of all crimes, he hurt no one. And I promise you Uther before these celebrations are over you will feel my pain. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son",

"Seize her!", Uther ordered, two knights made their way towards her. But, before they got close to her she said some sort of incantation in a language I didn't recognise and disappeared behind a puff of smoke. Uther looked angry. He turned around and returned to the inside of the castle. I didn't know what to make of what had just happened.

* * *

I made my way towards a small, servants entrance into the castle. Two guards stood on either side of the entrance,

"Where can I find Gaius, the court physician", I asked one of them,

"Down there", he growled, pointing his lance slightly in the direction of a narrow corridor,

"This way?", I asked pointing my finger down the corridor to confirm, I was ignored. "Alright then", I said to myself. I made my way through the corridor and up a set of narrow stairs, noticing a sign that read "Court Physician", accompanied by a small painted hand pointing towards a door.

* * *

I knocked twice then entered. There was an old man standing in front of some shelves on a sort of balcony. "Hello, sir?", I said, raising my voice slightly to make sure he could hear me. He turned slightly, and fell backwards off the balcony. I panicked, without thinking I willed the double bed sitting in the corner of the room to move over and cushion his fall. It did as I wished.

The man, who I assumed was Gaius, sat up groggily. He looked at me, confusion in his eyes,

"How did you do that?", his tone was a mixture of curiosity and accusation,

"I don't know" I said, I wasn't lying,

"Where did you study it?", he sounded almost angry,

"Study what?", I was confused and a little scared,

"Well magic of course", he said as though it was obvious,

"I've never studied it", in fact I'd spent most of my life trying to hide from the other kids,

"Don't lie to me boy!", he shouted,

"What do you want me to say?",

"The truth perhaps",

"I am telling you the truth, I never studied magic, I was just born like this",

"But that's impossible", I didn't know what to say, I just stood there playing with the straps on my back pack.

"Who are you?", he asked,

"Oh!", I remembered I was supposed to give him a letter from my mother, "I have a letter for you", I swung my bag over one shoulder and brought it around to the front. "Here",

"I don't have my reading glasses", Gaius said, he sounded like he was deliberately trying to be a pain, I smiled, I had I feeling I was going to like him,

"I'm Merlin",

"Ah, Hunith's son?", I nodded and smiled a little wider, "But you're not supposed to be here until Wednesday",

"Today is Wednesday", I reminded him gently,

"Well you'd better put your bag in there", he pointed towards a small door at the other end of the room,

"You won't say anything about umm...", I pointed at the bed and broken railing,

"Uh, no", he replied, "Although Merlin", he said after a pause, "I should say thank you". I smiled at him again before I went into the room. My stupid smile, I don't why I smiled so much, Gaius probably thought I was insane.

* * *

The room was small, but it fulfilled it's purpose. It contained a small, single bed, a small cupboard, a small desk, and a small bedside locker. The locker and desk both looked as though they were simply old crates turned upside down. There was a window, out of which I could see all the way out to the small town I had passed through earlier. It was already dark, the fires were lit in the houses making them look like jack-o-lanterns. It was a beautiful sight. I did not spend long admiring the view and instead tried to sleep. It had been a long day with a lot of walking.

* * *

_Gaius' Point of View_

As Merlin began to fall asleep in the small room I had set aside for him, I put on my glasses and read the letter from Hunith he had given me. Her letter made it seem as though Merlin had been telling the truth. She spoke of she was afraid his gifts would be found in their small village, of how he needed guidance and to find a purpose for his gifts. She begged me to keep him safe.

"I'll try Hunit, I'll try", I whispered quietly to the letter in my hands.


	2. Dragon's Call -2

_**Hi there explorer of the internet, I'm sorry there's been such a gap between my last upload and this, I was in France for a month without my laptop. Anyway enjoy this chapter, which includes our first Gwen scene yay! **_

* * *

I awoke the next morning to sound of someone calling my name. There was no one there. Sunlight was streaming through the window and a church bell chimed somewhere in the distance. Deciding I'd probably imagined it I got dressed and headed into the main room, where I had met Gaius the previous night. He was spooning something from a pot and into bowl.

"I got you some water", he said, nodding towards a jug, "You didn't wash last night",

"Sorry", I hadn't even thought of it,

"Help yourself to breakfast", he put the bowl down on the table in front of him. I sat down and spooned the mixture a little. It was lumpy porridge. Gaius knocked over the jug of water. Instinctively, I stood up and made it stop. It froze, mid-fall.

"How did you do that?", he sounded curious this time, more than accusatory,

"I don't know", I was getting tired of explaining that. The jug fell.

"Are you incanting spells in your mind?", Gaius asked, he didn't seem to get the fact that it was purely instinctual,

"I don't know any spells", he looked confused, "It just happens", I took a mop that was leaning against the wall and started to clean up the spill.

"Well, we'll have to keep you out of trouble", he raised one eyebrow and caught my eyes. I just smiled and concentrated on mopping up the water. "I suppose you can help me until we can find you some paid work", he took two bottles off a shelf and told me where to bring them. Just as I was about to leave he handed me a sandwich with some sort of meat on it. I grinned at him, he smiled back at me, he had a look in his eyes that seemed to say "This time only". "Off you go", he nodded towards the door, his smile disappeared, and took the mop off me. I nodded, smiled some more, and left.

* * *

I ate the sandwich as I made my way out of the castle, through the courtyard and into the town. The bottles were delivered without anything eventful happening. As I was passing through the courtyard on my way back to Gaius' I saw a group of knights. They were laughing and joking, I heard one of them ask,

"Where's my target practice?", a weedy looking boy, no older than me, stepped forward holding a shield. He started walking away from the knights. The knight I had heard speak threw a knife, he had blond hair. It hit the shield dead center. The boy stopped and looked up over the shield in shock. The knife looked like it had penetrated deeply, he must have seen the tip come through,

"Don't stop", the blond knight said through a laugh, the boy didn't seem to understand, he moved a little and asked

"Here?", the knight through another knife. It almost hit the boy's head but he managed to use the shield to block it just in time. "Go on, run", our blond hero encouraged. The boy ran and the knight threw knife after knife, each one hit the shield. I felt sorry for the boy, the knights laughed and cheered each time. The boy fell and the shield rolled towards me. I stopped it with my foot.

"Hey", I smiled down at him, the blond knight looked over at us, "Come on now, leave him alone", I felt sorry for the guy, and I didn't like the way the knights were taking advantage of him. The blond knight looked shocked,

"What?", he seemed like the type who always got his way, at the expense of others,

"You've had your fun my friend", I smiled a little, trying to appear friendly. He started to walk towards me, threateningly.

"Do I know you?", his tone was so arrogant, he fueled a sort of hate inside me, it was hard to keep smiling. Nevertheless I held out my hand to shake his,

"I'm Merlin",

"So I don't know you?", he ignored my outstretched hand, so I let it drop,

"No",

"And yet you called me friend", he was standing uncomfortably close to me at this stage

"Yeah that was my mistake", I decided to stop trying to be nice and give him some of his own medicine, "I'd never have a friend who could be such an ass",

"Nor I one who could be so stupid", he replied, I turned around, intending to walk away, I figured if I said anything else I'd start a fight. "Tell me Merlin", he said, I turned back around to face him, "Do you know how to walk on your knees?", his possy of knights giggled,

"Nope",

"Would you like me to help you?", he threatened,

"I wouldn't if I were you", I replied, laughing a little to try and appear more confident, the blond knight laughed,

"Why, what are _you_ going to do?",

"You have no idea",

"Be my guest", he encouraged, "Come on", I tried not to, but I couldn't resist his taunts. I swung my fist but he caught it, twisting my arm behind my back. "I could have you sent to jail for that", he whispered menacingly,

"Who do you think you are? The King?", even at times like this I couldn't resist a little sarcasm,

"No, I'm his son", he twisted my arm a little tighter and I only just resisted the urge to cry out, "Arthur", he added, he let go of my arm and I fell to the ground. He kept his promise and got two of his knights to drag me down to a cell underneath the castle. I hadn't even been in Camelot a week and I'd already managed to get myself arrested.

* * *

*Gwen's P.O.V*

I was hanging one Lady Morgana's bed sheets from a window to dry when I saw Arthur and his knights terrorizing some poor boy. I wasn't supposed to dally but I couldn't help but watch as a brave, and quite good looking, young man intervened. I couldn't hear exactly what was being said but I could tell Arthur didn't like it. The man tried to throw a punch at Arthur, but of course being the prince Arthur had been trained to fight since he learned to walk, and so caught the man's fist and twisted his arm behind his back. He got two of his knights to bring the man to one of the cells below the castle.

"Poor guy", I said to myself. I admired him for having the confidence to stand up to Arthur, he needs to learn that his arrogance will gain him enemies, and that that he can't always have his own ways. It's just unfortunate for that young man that Arthur doesn't want to learn.

*later that night, still Gwen's P.O.V*

I stood behind Lady Morgana in the throne room. Uther had invited Lady Helen, the kingdom's finest singer, to sing during the festival he had declared . As I was Lady Morgana's personal servant, I had been invited to Lady Helen's welcome, should Lady Morgana require anything. Uther greeted her,

"Ah, Lady Helen, thank you for joining our celebrations", she curtsied in respect for our king,

"The pleasure is all mine sir", Uther kissed her hand.

Before I knew it the evening was over. I suppose time goes by quicker when you're not living in the moment, and I couldn't stop thinking about a handsome young man who had tried what very few had tried before him...


	3. Dragon's Call -3

_**Ok so the day I uploaded chapter 2 I got almost 100 hundred hits! Wow! Thank you guys for reading, enjoy chapter 3, in which you will find the first scene where Gwen and Merlin interact. Enjoy, review and share with your friends (pretty please ;) )**_

* * *

*Merlin's P.O.V*

I spent the night in a small cell in the dungeons. My bed was a thin layer of straw. It wasn't all bad though, the image of a woman's face kept me warm. I had no idea where I'd seen her before, I just knew she was beautiful.

* * *

I awoke the next morning to the same voice calling my name again, this time repeatedly. It scared me because I couldn't see the source, the corridor outside my cell was empty.

Just as I was about to press my ear to the floor, in an attempt to hear the voice again, Gaius walked into the cell,

"You know Merlin, you never cease to amaze me. The one thing someone like you should be doing is keeping your head down. And what do you do? Go out and act like an idiot!", he wasn't quite shouting but I think I would have prefered it if he was. I looked down at my feet sheepishly and mumbled,

"Sorry",

"You're lucky; I have managed to pull a few strings", Gaius continued, "To get you released",

"Oh thank you, thank you!", it took all my self control not to jump around like a toddler on a sugar high, "I won't forget this", I was wearing that cheesy grin again,

"Not without a price of course", there was a slightly mischievous look about his smile, which made me wonder what the price could be. I soon found out.

* * *

The price for my freedom was a day in the stocks. Which is not a pleasant way to spend a day but I figured it was better than a few years in the dungeons, and I kind of liked the way it made the kids happy when they were throwing rotten fruit at me. At one point the kids ran off to collect more food, and I noticed a woman in a red dress and cloak walk towards me. She was too beautiful to be a servant or a villager, but why would someone of importance stop beside me in the stocks? She had beautifully dark skin, with hair to match. She wore it tied simply behind her head, with a few strands falling on either side of her perfectly shaped face. She looked familiar.

"I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen", her voice was as beautiful as the rest of her. She joined her hands loosely in front of her torso, nervously. Her hands didn't match her face. Her face was young, beautiful and soft, but her hands were old, wrinkled and hardened. "I'm the Lady Morgana's maid", I suddenly realised where I'd seen her before, it was her I fell asleep thinking about, but where had I seen her before?

"Right", I said quickly, I inwardly cursed at myself for staring at her. "I'm Merlin", I moved my hand a little, she understood and shook my hand as much as possible through the restriction of the stocks. She smiled a little. "Although most people just call me idiot",

"Oh, no, no", she replied, shaking her head, "I saw what you did, it was so brave", oh, so she must have been in the courtyard or something when I stuck up for that boy. I sighed,

"No, it was stupid", I looked down at the ground, it was easier than looking into her eyes.

*Gwen's P.O.V* (_**short authors note:**_ sorry for the sudden p.o.v change I know it annoys some people)

I don't know why I chose to walk up to the stocks and talk to the brave man, but I'm glad I did. Merlin is even better looking up close. He seemed to want someone to tell him he was wrong, what he did wasn't stupid. But I like him, so, I decided to toy with him a little instead,

"Well, I'm glad you walked away, you were never going to beat him", he was quick to defend himself,

"Why? I could beat him", he said through a nervous smile, I looked him up and down slowly, smiling a little,

"You think?", I laid the sarcasm on thickly, "Because you don't look like one of those big muscular kind of fellows", I knew this would make him want to prove himself. He looked up at me, confusion in his eyes.

"Thanks", he sounded hurt. Oops. He didn't realise I was joking. I felt guilt drop down into my stomach.

"No, no, I'm sure you're stronger than you look", there was that confused and hurt face again, oh my god what was wrong with me? I put the sarcastic voice on again, "It's just Arthur's one of them rough, tough, save-the-world type of men and well...",

"What?", he looked confused and hurt again, I looked him up and down again (still smiling)

"You just don't look like that", he smiled like he'd finally got that I was toying with him. He cocked his head slightly, you know that universal symbol that's means 'come here'. So I leaned in a little,

"I'm in disguise", he half whispered. I stepped back a bit, laughing. A huge smile broke out on his face. I decided to stop toying, and tell him what I really thought,

"Well it's great that you stood up to him", he was still smiling, and it seemed to just keep getting bigger. I liked that smile and I wanted to see more of it.

"You think so?", how he was able to speak through that huge smile will forever remain a mystery,

"Arthur's a bully, and everyone thought you were a real hero", his smile changed slightly, like before he had been smiling out of amusement, but now he was smiling out of pride and ecstasy.

"Really?", he asked, I nodded and smiled. For a moment neither of us said anything, I wish that moment had lasted longer. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue. "Ah, Guinevere, if you'll excuse me, my fans are waiting", he nodded slightly. There were some children with baskets of rotten produce. I whispered

"See you", and ran off. He waved a little, as much as he could through his restraints. The second I was out of their line of fire, the children began to throw the produce.


End file.
